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  “About 140,000 square feet,” Jordan replied.

  “Three acres,” Dave added.

  “Is that enough room for a keep and grounds?” Amy asked.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind a really really little keep,” Marc quipped, holding his finger and thumb together for emphasis.

  “Well, once we get our first level five building, we can expand, right? I saw it on the claim screen,” Robb said. “We can just grab more land.”

  “But we have to plan the complex properly so we don’t end up tearing down buildings so we can build bigger ones,” Amy said. “Things are going to be tough enough without making expensive mistakes.”

  “What about the ingots!?” Robb exclaimed. “Let’s make a decision and get going! If someone else loots those things we’re sunk!”

  “Okay, here goes,” Jordan said. He scrolled through the majestic animated scenes of keeps, fortresses, seaside palaces and tough-looking little frontier castles. Each was designed to show the player the potential of their future sprawling empire. Jordan longingly passed up golden spires, flowing fields of impeccably manicured greens, a hanging gardens-style half submerged beauty of a complex complete with aquamarine filigree, and even a shining alabaster city that floated in the sky over the sea on an enormous magically suspended rock the size of a small mountain.

  Finally he landed on what the game called a “Merchant’s Spire.” It was an elegant affair, consisting of a single main structure surrounded by soaring, agile-looking pointed towers. At least that’s what it would look like after the requisite investments had been made. The highest-level stone for the structure would have to be mined from a level sixty zone a full two hundred in-game miles from Shon Cloud. The prospect of mining several thousand tons of misty rock didn’t bother Jordan at all. Moving it that far did, however.

  Despite his dreams of gazing out across his future domain and entertaining thoughts of crowning himself king of all he surveyed, Jordan had ulterior motives for choosing the merchant option. One, it gave him the absolute maximum access to henchmen as early as possible. Two, it also gave him the option to build out a marketplace that, if successful, would give him access to all kinds of goods other players would never see unless they followed the same plan.

  At the moment, the henchmen were far more important, as he needed manpower to guard and move the Safekeep treasure.

  “Last chance,” he said.

  “Click it,” Amy replied.

  The POV pulled back and heralding trumpets sounded. Waves crashed against the shore and reminded the No-Name Games team just how amazing Kings and Conquests could look when it wanted to impress its players. A wave of light exploded in all directions from where Highwayman stood. It reached the limits of the land claim and flashed ghostly stone walls at the borders. Out of the sky, structures began to fall. A wooden building labeled “outpost” landed first, directly in the center of the plot. A cloud of dust rose and then faded away. Next to it, a smaller building labeled “general supply” landed. Between them, a set of wooden posts constructed itself. The words “Flight Node” floated over them momentarily, then faded. A third building called “Worker Barracks” landed across from the other two.

  The POV dove and soared across the ground, leaving Highwayman and the central structure complex behind. It paused before sweeping up the beach and stopping at the natural jetty. From out of the sky dozens of pieces of heavy wood fell. They slotted themselves in two straight lines before planks connected the supports and formed a brand new dock. Two structures fell into place, both on the same side of the wooden platform. Then a small two-masted ship landed in the water next to the structures. The words “Shon Cloud Landing” rose over the entire complex. Then a text box appeared.

  “We can name the ship!” Dave said. “I wish I had a founder’s account.”

  Jordan didn’t say a word. He simply typed “Alyssa’s Hope” into the box and clicked “ok.”

  Amy and Robb both rolled their eyes. Alyssa leaned down and put her arms around Jordan. “That’s sweet” she whispered in his ear. “I can’t wait to sail away with you.”

  “By the looks of things that might be our best bet,” Jordan replied quietly.

  The POV shifted back to the central complex and brought up a list of initial henchmen eligible for recruiting.

  “Get the ones with the highest skill points in heavy loads. You remember what Wyland said,” Robb pointed out.

  “Good call,” Marc added.

  “Get a couple who can stand guard too. Highwayman needs some sleep,” Dave said. “Make sure you recruit enough guys so you can man that ship while you’re at it. The last thing you need is to waste your Founder’s advantages and then find out someone made off with the goods because you didn’t lock the door.”

  “Can we get a cart of some kind? How about some horses? That would make things a ton easier.” Amy said. “I wish I could get up there. I have a whole stable full of horses at my beck and call!”

  “Can’t we just use the ship?” Alyssa asked. Her question was as innocent as it was powerful, and it brought conversation in Hacienda Beachcomber Bungalow Eight to a screeching halt.

  “Yeah, why can’t we just sail everyone up there?” Dave said, acknowledging Alyssa with a bit more regard than before. It was a rather unexpected question and an even more unexpectedly good idea.

  “I don’t know how to sail a ship,” Jordan said.

  “Yeah, but your henchmen do,” Amy replied.

  “I have to give up heavy loads then. These guys can only start with one skill.”

  “Okay, get the maximum number of bodies, set half for heavy loads and the other half to sail the ship,” Robb said.

  “They can auto-pilot it?”

  Alyssa nodded. “It uses the same option as the flight paths. I remember that from our orientation when I got hired.”

  “What about Rook?”

  “Getting back to the city isn’t going to matter if we don’t have anything to turn in,” Marc said. “We’ll be a lot stronger if we’re all together and if this ship thing works, we’ve got a way to get the loot back down the coast without worrying about guarding it on an overland escort quest.”

  “Gah. I hate escort quests,” Robb muttered. “And we’re out of coffee.” He set the empty room service pot down on the table. “Call the food boy.”

  “Food boy!” Everyone shouted at once, startling Alyssa.

  “Can that ship carry my horse?” Amy asked. “Can we get a cart aboard? If so, this thing is going to be simple.”

  “Not so fast,” Jordan said quietly as he leaned closer. “I have a quest. Two quests. I have to hire a questmaster, and in order to do that I have to do some... crafting!”

  “Okay, we’re not all going to sit here and watch you build a canoe,” Robb said. “What can we do in the meantime? How do we get someplace where we can catch the ship you’re sending us?”

  “Pull up the map of Natsein,” Amy said. Everyone gathered closer. “Okay, here’s Dayshire. Here’s Rook to the northeast, and here’s Shon Cloud along the coast.”

  “Looks like about a hundred miles,” Dave said. “A lot easier to reach by sea, especially with that ridge in between. We’d never be able to navigate a cart through those mountain passes.”

  “We aren’t crossing any provincial boundaries, are we?” Robb asked.

  Jordan rotated the map and zoomed out to the province level display. “Doesn’t look like it. Tabulan territory starts here, but that looks like it’s at least a day’s travel from Shon Cloud. We’re still square in the middle of Natsein’s borders as long as we don’t get too far from the shore.” He zoomed back in and scrolled the map to focus on the shoreline.

  “Here,” Marc said. “This looks like the closest seaside village to Dayshire.”

  “Yarshire. Probably a fishing village,” Amy added. “Looks like it might be a quest hub of some kind too. Level ten zone.”

  “A bit advanced for us, but we have a ready-made group,”
Dave said. “How long would it take for.. wait, what’s her character’s name?”

  “Ciara,” Alyssa said.

  “Irish girl’s name meaning ‘black.’ Interesting,” Dave replied. “Also named after a saint.”

  “I didn’t know you were a scholar of Gaelic names,” Amy said.

  “Every winning team has at least one Irishman,” Dave said. “And every true victory is won for an Irish lass. Isn’t that right, Jordan?”

  “Well, if the Irish aren’t out starting fights they’re sitting at their desks writing about them,” Jordan quipped. Alyssa grinned.

  “Alright then, the four members of the Shon Cloud movers will rendezvous with Ciara, the Doncella of Lish at the seaside village of Yarshire,” Amy said. “Meanwhile, Highwayman finishes his crafting quests and gets the ship launched and pointed south.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that sounded like instructions for a video game,” Jordan said. “We need more computers.”

  A moment later, a loud knock at the door caused everyone in the room to jump.

  Chapter Three

  “Powerpennies. What a stupid name for a crowdfunding site. Why not just call it ‘a tin cup in the subway?'"

  “Shut up, Jason. That bitch put us in a hole, and we need some way of getting ourselves out,” Rich Glenford said as he slammed the driver side door of his rental. “We need to get back in the game, even if we’re a hundred years behind everyone else.”

  “How the hell are we supposed to get to level 40!? The highest level player in the game is 19, and he’s likely been at it non-stop for weeks! Without Alyssa’s head start, we don’t have a chance of getting back to where we were!”

  “Let’s go talk to this guy at least, okay?” Rich said. “He’s investing in qualified teams so he can complete a treasure collection. Maybe he’ll stake us.”

  “Yeah, he’ll give us six thousand pennies, which is about what this whole operation is worth at the moment.”

  Jason and Rich made their way across the parking lot of the four-star Chestnut Hotel. They were dressed in their best attempt at adult uniforms, which was to say they looked like a couple of Phoenix police detectives. Blue coat and tan slacks for one, gray wool suit for the other, and driving a car with square headlights.

  The Chestnut was one of the many suburban destination spots for tourists. Like many Southern California attractions, it was parked among high-tech office buildings and unnecessarily wide streets in a land called Irvine, not far from Orange County’s largest technology park. This seemed to be the place where video game enterprises were most often born, so it wasn’t surprising to have yet another “Patron of the Paladins” emerging from behind the Orange Curtain. It seemed conservative money and its college-age children had combined to form the newest trend in business: Turning Kings and Conquests events into income.

  The Chestnut was located in an impeccably well-kept and alarmingly green cluster of expensive real estate near two other recognizably-named chain hotels. The independent resort maintained an advantage over its competitors due to its more exclusive clientele. It was also never oversold due to its heavily restricted involvement with budget web sites and travel agents. Its key advantage was its ground-floor dining, which included two legendary restaurants and a 200-person-capacity buffet hall. Jason and Rich were headed for Winter’s, which was the trendy lunch spot for overpaid downtown office workers and the occasional entrepreneur. It was a luxurious affair, with round tables built in to swirling wood and upholstery couches that made the floorplan look like it had been designed by a calligrapher. During the day, 4K televisions showed soundless sports and news channels. The servers all wore flawless black tie apparel. The bartender’s outfit matched, hold the jacket.

  Rich and Jason were showed to a table near the back of the restaurant by the head waiter. Joe Boyle was noodling on his phone as they approached. He was dressed in entrepreneur’s black on black, complete with a $600 silk tie.

  “Rich, Jason, so glad you could come.” He rose and shook their hands in turn, then offered them a seat. “Order what you like. Lunch is on me.”

  Rich and Jason glanced at each other. Even people who couldn’t afford Winter’s knew what a lunch tab could aspire to become in such an exclusive venue.

  “What are you drinking?”

  “Uhhh, we hadn’t planned that far ahead, I’m afraid,” Jason replied.

  “No problem. Give us Orinoco Drafts all around in the after-hours glasses. Bring us a side of limes as well.”

  “Very good sir.” The head waiter vanished the way only head waiters could when they were tasked with retrieving $160 worth of beer.

  “So, tell me what you’ve learned so far,” Joe said, as he switched off his phone. It was a subtle gesture, but in polite high-tech society, it told the two younger men they had a millionaire’s undivided attention for at least as long as it took for them to talk themselves out of a deal.

  “I won’t sugarcoat it, Joe. We’re behind. Maybe too far at this point,” Rich said. “I’ve got a plan to get us back in the race, but it’s going to take time and more than a little help.”

  “Give me the 30,000 foot view after we order.”

  The two younger men tried their best to look calm and reasonable as they perused the $80 steaks and the featured salt and pepper chicken salad for two which dressed out at a hefty $45 and had its own full color page in the wood-covered menu. This was not a place likely to become popular with gamers any time soon.

  Rich ordered a ribeye steak lunch which included soup and salad and a healthy portion of Winter’s famous sauteed potatoes. Vegetable soup and a salad sprinkled with sesame seeds and vinegar-touched croutons arrived first. The server complimented him on his choice, given the Orinoco craft beer was the recommended beverage. Jason ordered braised short ribs, which included roughly the same side options. He chose the french onion soup and the egg-topped salad. A basket of six varieties of bread arrived. There were sour rolls, french rolls, sliced rye, pumpkin, buttermilk biscuits and croissants. Joe ordered the filet mignon and lobster.

  After what seemed like at least four deliveries of meal courses, Rich took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “Money making strategies in KNC have coalesced into four major approaches, with income possibilities to match. The people who started running as fast as they could to max level have all been slaughtered so often they’ve given up. It seems Fairly Unusual’s whole purpose was to discourage people from being gluttons. And shit did it work.”

  “At first, it was plopping them down in the meat grinder starting area, but only if they bypassed all the instructions and documentation and thought they could just start leveling their asses off,” Jason added. “The ragequits went on for days. It was most entertaining. There’s practically a complete transcript of it on Orbit’s.”

  “Which is how Wyland could justify making the first person to max level an instant millionaire,” Joe replied. “He already had gateways in place.”

  “Exactly,” Rich said. “Kings and Conquests will kill your ass deader than fuck if you try to button-mash. With all the noise and the trolls weeded out, it left most of the game world open to people who were at least somewhat capable of independent thought. A lot of them formed merchants and crafting guilds and populated the city areas. They don’t get the big treasures, but they can grind out a lot of valuable accessories for other players.”

  “What’s good about it is the idiots were the first to quit,” Jason added. “They thought the game was unplayable. What they didn’t realize is the game rewards a reasoned, well thought-out approach. Kind of like this restaurant. People who just want a taco they can shove into their face aren’t making reservations at Winter’s. KNC is only unplayable if you’re an asshole.”

  “But how does that make us money?” Joe asked.

  “Merchants and crafters that reach a certain level can build a shop the same way Founders can build keeps. A Kings and Conquests shop can be accessed from outside the game an
d through the augmented reality app. When someone buys something, they can pay using in-game currency or they can use real money. Fairly Unusual takes a cut. If someone who isn’t a player buys an item, they get a month of server time for free so they can use it in the game.”

  “Believe it or not,” Jason added, “the most in-game money is being earned by people who make bottles.”

  “Bottles,” Joe repeated.

  “Glassmaking is the hottest crafting category up to level 20.”

  “Well, there you have it, then,” Joe said. “How long would it take to open up enough shops to fund the venture you two have in mind and what’s it going to cost?”

  “It’s probably going to take longer than the other strategies,” Jason replied as the server set his entree plate down in front of him. “Merchant and crafting income is steady, but slow.”

  “The second option is unique bounties,” Rich said as he was presented with his steak. “That’s where we hire a player or team to go get us something valuable and then use the treasure station to fab it so we can sell it in the real world. The top bounty team so far has grossed about $600,000. Their top sell was a 1:60 model of the warship Actium, which they had enhanced by completing a quest to locate shipwrecks from a massive naval battle in one of the princess rescue scenarios. They had to buy the materials to print it, but once it was done, they discovered the whole ship had 14 karat gold where all the metal fittings would have been installed. Sold for triple the materials cost.”

  “Wow,” Joe said. “That sounds rather more exciting than running a general store.”

  “It isn’t without its risks,” Rich said. “The bounty team has to share the wealth if their henchmen get killed during the search. The third option is straight-up treasure farming, which is approved by Fairly Unusual as long as the coins are sold through a KNC shop. You have to enlist the help of a high-level merchant, but currency is always in demand.”